One piece, drive fit, closure cap and sleeve for piles

ABSTRACT

A drive fit, closure cap for pipe piles formed of a pan having tapered upright sides, the tapered sides serving to lead the pipe into the pan and thereby reduce the pipe diameter to a lesser diameter than it originally had, to thus make a nonwelding self locking water tight joint for efficient pile driving. The pan is provided with an internal annular ring which may be utilized to retain gasket and/or sealant material or may be sized to be a drive fit on the inside of the pipe while the tapered sides of the pan form a drive fit on the outside of the pipe. A drive fit sleeve for joining two pipe piles formed of two such drive fit closure caps joined bottom to bottom and having their bases&#39;&#39; centers blanked out.

1 1 Apr. 3, 1973 [54] ONE PIECE, DRIVE FIT, CLOSURE CAP AND SLEEVE FOR PILES [76] Inventor: Charles R. Pepe, Old Quarry Road, Apline, NJ. 07620 [22] Filed: Nov. 27, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 93,278

[52] US. Cl. ..61/53, 61/53.5, 72/1; 138/89, 285/331,285/398 [51] Int. Cl. ..E02d 5/00, E02d 5/72, F161 25/00 [58] Field of Search ..61/53, 53.5, 56, 54,537, 6l/53.72; 138/89, 96; 285/331, 398

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,141,305 7/1964 Schenk ..61/53 1,916,702 7/1933 Watt ..61/53 3,333,428 8/1967 Dougherty ..61/53 3,352,120 11/1967 Pelzer ..61/53 X 2;430,879 11/1947 Kohn ..61/53 1,921,642 8/1933 Stephenson ..285/398 X 1,954,070 4/1934 Cook ..61/56 X 2,334,386 11/1943 Cortella ..61/S3.72 3,543,524 12/1970 Clements ..61/53 3,003,323 10/1961 Holt ..61/53 Primary Examiner-Jacob Shapiro AttorneySamuelson & Jacob [57] ABSTRACT A drive fit, closure cap for pipe piles formed of a pan having tapered upright sides, the tapered sides serving to lead the pipe into the pan and thereby reduce the pipe diameter to a lesser diameter than it originally had, to thus make a nonwelding self locking water tight joint for efficient pile driving. The pan is pro- A drive fit sleeve for joining two pipe piles formed of two such drive fit closure caps joined bottom to bottom and having their bases centers blanked out.

28 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPRB 1573 3.724223 INVENTOR CHARLES F2. PEPE RTTORKEYS T TE Z PATENTEU 3 I973 SHEET 2 0F 3 INVENTOR EN CHARLES R PEPE Jew L/LJK/ ATTO EVE PATENTED APR 3 I975 SHEET 3 UF 3 INVENTOR CHARLES R. PEPE #w'roreNZi ONE PIECE, DRIVE FIT, CLOSURE CAP AND SLEEVE FOR PILES The invention relates to caps and sleeves for piles and to piles formed therewith.

More particularly, the invention is directed toward providing such drive caps and sleeves which may be applied to the ends of piles without welding and which tend to reduce the pile diameter rather than to flare or to increase it.

In the prior art, it has been common to weld a fiat plate to the end of a pipe pile in the field. This technique has two inherent disadvantages: first, the pipe is softened and weakened by the welding; and second, welding in the field is expensive and cumbersome.

Other prior art techniques require the use of points or deformable shoes which have to be fabricated to fit the size of the pile. The thickness of the deformable shoes must be changed to suit the soil conditions in which the pile is being used. Moreover, the prior art techniques do not produce a drive fit cap which can be used at both the top and bottom of a pile capable of being driven on directly by the hammer. Nor do these old techniques permit the use of the cap in combination with other fittings for driving combination piles and other uses.

Broadly, the invention utilizes a one piece, drive fit cap having a base and an outwardly tapered side projecting from the top of the base. Because of the outward taper, the diameter of the pile is compressed as the cap is driven onto the end of the pile. This increases the strength of the pile whereas flaring of the pile, which generally occurs when using prior art devices, weakens it.

One embodiment of the invention utilizes an internal annular ring to retain a thin wall, pipe pile between the tapered side and the internal ring to thereby support the pile along both its inner and outer circumferences.

By blanking out the center of the base and joining two caps together, bottom to bottom, it is possible to form a pile sleeve for joining two piles together. It is also possible to form a sleeve for joining pipe piles to timber piles.

It is an important object of the invention to provide an outside, drive fit, closure cap for piles which will reduce the outer diameter of the pile and which when used with pipe piles eliminates the necessity for welding the cap to the pile.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a drive fit, closure cap wherein it is possible to use thinner wall, pipe piles than has been possible using prior art techniques.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide such a device so that wide mill tolerances in pile dimensions will not prevent a good fit of the cap on the pile.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide such a device with an internal ring so that the pipe pile is held between the side of the cap and the internal ring.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide such a device with a flat bottom to thereby obtain a larger bulb of friction. The bulb of friction is defined as the area of the soil surrounding the pile.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide such a device to which a flat plate may be affixed to provide added thickness and strength to the device without changing the whole device. The thickness of the added, bottom plate is determined by the job requirements.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide such a device, the center of whose base may be blanked out and joined, bottom to bottom, to a similar unit to form a sleeve for joining two piles together and which will lock the two piles together.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a pile cap which can be applied to either end of a pile and driven on with the conventional hammer and drive apparatus.

It is a still further important object of the invention to provide a self locking, non-welding, drive closure cap that does not relay on deformation of the drive cap in order to lock onto the pile.

These and other objects, advantages, features and uses will be apparent during the course of the following description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

I FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the first step of the method used to form the one piece, drive fit, pile cap of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 of the second step of the method of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIGS. 1 and 2 of the third step of the method of the invention;

FIG. 4 is anelevational, sectional view of a portion of a pile cap formed by the method of FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to that of FIG. 4 showing a pile cap of the invention for use with pipe piles and having an internal annular ring which is affixed to the top of the base of the cap and which has a smaller outside diameter than the inside diameter of the pipe pile;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to that of FIG. 5 wherein the outside diameter of the internal annular ring is slightly greater than the inside diameter of the pipe pile;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. 5 showing a reinforcing plate welded to the bottom of the base of the cap;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the pile cap of FIG. 6 on a reduced scale;

FIG. 9 is an elevational view of a pile having a pile cap of the invention applied to each end;

FIG. 10 is an elevational view of a portion of a hammer showing the manner in which the pile of FIG. 9 may be driven;

FIG. 11 is a view similar to that of FIG. 10 of the prior art technique used in driving pipe piles;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to that of FIG. 9 showing a pile cap of the invention applied to a pipe pile and a section of pipe welded to the bottom of the base to facilitate the driving of a composite pipe timber pile;

FIG. 13 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 showing a one piece, pile cap of the invention with a cutting shoe affixed to the bottom of the base;

FIG. 14 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1, showing two, one piece, pile caps with internal annular rings joined bottom to bottom, with their centers blanked out to form a sleeve; I

FIG. 15 is a view similar to that of FIG. 14, without internal annular rings, showing two different sized caps joined together, bottom to bottom, to form a sleeve for the purpose of making step taper pipe piles; and

FIG. 16 is an elevational view showing the use of sleeves of the invention to form a three step pile.

The drawings are for the'purpose of illustration to show the prior art and various embodiments of the device and method of the invention and like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same.

Before proceeding further with the description of the method and of the construction of various embodiments of the pile cap and sleeve of the invention, it is considered best to discuss the application of a pile cap 20 of the invention to a pile (FIG. 9). In FlG. 9 a pile cap 20 has been driven onto a pipe pile 38. The upper cap 20 serves as a drive cap to receive a drive head 40 of a pile hammer 42 (FIG. 10). The lower cap serves as a closure device to prevent water and dirt from entering the interior of the pipe and thereby reducing the efficiency of the driving and causing rejection of the pile because of the foreign matter allowed to enter the pile, which will contaminate and weaken the concrete to be placed inside the pipe pile, after driving is completed. It must be remembered that after a pipe pile is driven to desired resistance, it must be filled with cement or concrete so that it will have the proper load bearing capacity.

It can be seen that the top cap offers the hammer a large area of heavy metal for driving and prevents the top of the pile from crimping or bending. Crimping or bending is much more likely when the pipe pile is driven with the top uncapped (H6. 11). The drive head 44 does not always make even contact with the wall of pipe 38 so that uneven driving, crimping and bending can occur quite readily.

When a pile crimps or bends while being driven, it usually must be burned out of the hammer drive head. Burning the pile out of the hammer drive head is very time-consuming and expensive, since the whole construction (pile driving) operation must stop while one person burns the pipe free. Burning the pipe also softens the metal, and very often, in difficult driving, the pipe must be burned off and a new heading given the pipe before the pile can be driven to the required resistance When the hammer hits the pile after the pile has been previously burned, the hammer is striking metal that because of the previous burning and annealing has been made much softer than the original metal. The result is a vicious cycle of repeated pile crimping and bending and failing, then more burning to give the hammer a fresh pile heading from which to drive, then, because of the burning, the pile crimps and fails again.

With the use of the cap of the invention at the top of the pile, the hammer strikes a large flat area rather than a few inches on the circumference of a thin wall, pipe pile. The shock of the hammer is more evenly distributed over the entire pile. The pile has been captured by the drive cap and the pipe s wall strength is increased by the reduction in outside diameter of the pile by its being a forced, drive fit insertion into the drive cap. After the pile has been driven to proper resistance, the pile is cut off at the proper elevation, and the remaining length is (together with its capped top end) ready for driving as the next pile.

For example, a contractor has 100 piles, feet long each, to drive, of the thinnest wall, pipe piling that is capable of withstanding the driving conditions and resistance. Because of subsurface conditions, hewould normally need a wall thickness of say, perhaps 0.250 inch, to withstand the driving conditions and resistance. By using the pile cap of the invention on top and bottom he can use a reduced wall thickness, say 0.188 inch or even 0.179 inch, because of the support afforded by the pile cap of the invention for reasons which will become apparent later in this description. The contractor would purchase 50 piles of double random lengths of approximately 55 feet each, instead of 100 piles of single random lengths of i 39-42 feet in length. He would install a cap on each end of the 50 piles, and would proceed to drive each of the 50 piles to resistance. Each pile would be then cut off at the proper grade. Each of these remaining 50 lengths of approximately 25 feet pipe piles could then be driven directly by changing from a drive cap hammer drive head to a conventional pipe head or the better procedure would be to have an additional drive caps on hand which could be installed on the piles to protect their tops. I

The advantage of this system is the use of thinner wall pipe allowed by the use of drive caps both on top and on bottom, and also the elimination of 50 percent of wasteby turning the pipe over and driving the original upper half, as the next pile lower end with its drive cap remaining in place.

Waste is a very great problem in driving pipe piles, since pipe mills roll pipe in random lengths and piles do drive to erratic tip elevations. Therefore, each time a random length is driven a considerable amount of waste is incurred. If a pile cap is available that is of a configuration that can be driven on by the hammer so it offers a flat surface for the anvil of the hammer to strike, then this waste reducing, double use, drive cap system can be utilized.

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate the steps of forming a one piece, pile cap of the invention. A flat piece of steel or similar metal 21 is placed over a die 23 and punch 25 is moved downward. After the piece 21 assumes the shape of FIG. 2, it is removed from die 23 and placed on a flat table 27 and pressure is again applied by means of a flat bottom, punch 25A so that a bulge 29 is formed at the junction of the base 31 and the slightly tapered side 33 of the completed pile cap 20. This bulge aids in capturing and holding-the pipe pile and locking the pipe to which the cap is applied, in position.

Pile caps formed in accordance with the foregoing method possess many advantages. They can be formed of structural steel and maintain exact tolerances by use of this deep drawing (punch and die) technique.

The stamping method of manufacture (deep drawing) increases the strength of the drive cap over the strength of the original plate, by work hardening. This enables the manufacturer to use lighter metals (less thickness) and reduce cost.

The deep draw process (work hardening) not only insures consistent proper sizing, but also insures the very important correct comer configuration, which comer configuration is very difficult to achieve in sand castings and forgings. Sand castings are the casting methods used presently to manufacture similar products. Castings have voids, are porous, have accumulations of weak iron and are expensive.

All of the imperfections resulting from castings create conditions which make for leaky piles and cause rejection or at least create great problems for the pile driving contractor. Therefore, it is preferable to manufacture by stamping, even though other methods may be used.

The prior art consists of using a flat plate welded to the pile, or a point welded to the pile, or some other configuration of closure device welded to the pile, or a drive fit point or other device driven onto the pipe pile.

The welded type of closure device is, of course, very expensive, since the closure point or device must be purchased, and then welded onto the pile. The flat plate welded to the pile is the most economical of the welded closures, since the closure consists of only a plate. However, as cheap as a plate is, the pile must still be handled many times in order to be welded. For example, a pipe mill prefers not to fabricate or weld plates to piles. The contractor who wants a plate attached to his piling must have the work done in the field or by a pipe warehouseman. The cost of making a rack and putting together facilities for welding in the field is generally prohibitive.

In the face of many obstacles, a pile contractor will purchase piling from a warehouse that has facilities to weld plates to the pipe. The warehouseman will purchase piling from the mill, at mill prices, then have it shipped to his yard, unload the piling from the truck or rail car. lay the pipe piling on the welding rack, weld the plate to the pile, load the piling back on trucks, and deliver it to the job. Although the actual cost of the plate attached (welded) will be cheaper than a drive fit point, the cost of handling the pipe is added to the per lineal foot, warehouse price of pipe, and the overall cost of the pile ready to drive is just as costly using a flat plate welded to the pile, as the use of a cast prefabricated closure device of the type presently available. It is known in the pile driving industry that a flat plate results in a more plumb pile than a point. The previous drawback to using a point or other closure device has been cost. The typical cast point is a drive fit type of closure device, which drive fit is supposed to eliminate the need for welding.

Both the configuration of all of the economically feasible prior art devices, and the method of manufacture of all of the economically feasible prior art devices, created a sizing problem, which made the close tolerances needed for a drive fit difficult to achieve. The result was leaking piles which were a direct result of the poor fit. Other methods of manufacture of points and other closure devices were tried, but were either unsuccessful because of the cost, or were unsuccessful because of the configuration.

The drive cap of the invention is of a configuration that can be increased in strength with the addition of a flat plate welded to the bottom of the pan, i.e., if the pan is constructed of 7/16 inch thick material, and the driving conditions require thicker material, say inch,

2 then a 5/16 inch plate may be welded to the bottom of the pen to bring the total metal thickness of inch. If additional thickness is required, the bottom plate to be welded on may be increased in thickness, so that the combined base thickness and plate thickness would equal the job requirement thickness.

The base is preferably constructed of the lightest material able to be used for accepted minimum driving conditions for each of the sizes of pipe piling.

For instance, it has been found that 8 inches O.D. pipe piling in 0.179 inch or 0.188 inch wall thickness with most hammers, and in accordance with the accepted driving formulas. As the tonnage of the pile is increased (the bearing capacity is increased), the pile must be driven harder by the hammer. This means that as the bearing capacity increases, the number of blows per inch the pile must be subjected to is increased. The number of blows per inch to which a pile can be driven with a given hammer is limited by the ability of the pile itself (or the steel in a pipe configuration) to withstand the shockof the hammer, particularly on the very top and the very bottom ends of the pile.

The number of blows per foot or per inch can be increased until the top of the pile buckles and fails, and/or the closure device (whether it is a flat plate welded to the pile, or a formed drive cap, such as those of the present invention, or a point, or other type cap) fails, or the pile fails somewhere in its length. Each jobs pile bearing capacity will vary with the structures requirements.

It is not economical to construct the drive cap or any closure device of material in maximum thickness. The most economical situation is to construct the device of the lightest material which will meet average conditions, and to construct the device in such a way that added thicknesses can be easily and economically added to the basic cap.

In the construction of the pile cap of the invention, the average correct thickness of metal is used and the work hardening of the material is taken into account when constructed by deep drawing. And as the structure bearing capacity increases, and as the pile bearing capacity is increased the bottom of the basic pan can be increased in strength, without changing the basic piece.

The pile cap of the invention is constructed of such dimensions so as to lead the pipe down a uniform taper to reduce its outside diameter and give the pipe greater strength. When a pipe is swaged open, light wall material will fail under severe driving, because there is no sup port, and no retention member to'prevent its continuing to flare.

In addition, as wall thickness increases and decreases, the inside diameter (l.D.) of the pipe piling sizes increases and decreases, i.e., what may be a good l.D. fit for 0.250 inch wall will be a poor I.D. fit for 0.179 inch'wall pipe, and will certainly not be a water tight, drive fit, which will not need to be welded to the pipe.

The flat bottom allows use of very thin material, e.g., inch material, which allows the choice of many stamping manufacturers not just those who have very heavy specialized equipment. The result is a much more economical product to manufacture. The distributor can stock all three popular pile sizes without regard to the contractors driving requirements. With each job requirement, the contractor would decide what size plate to attach or weld to the base to work in combination with the work-hardened base thickness. Work-hardening is important because experiments have shown such units to be superior to those which are not work-hardened. In all cases, the non-drawn units failed easily and the same metal thickness drawn units showed on signs of failure, even after much harder driving. Work-hardening increases the strength of the metal tremendously.

By using the outside drive fit method, out'of-round pipes or oversized pipes, or even undersized pipes, do not affect operation. For example, the cap dimensions for use with an 8 "74; inches outside diameter (O.D. pipe are as follows: the open end is 08.783 inches which easily allows even an oversized and egg-shaped 08.625 inches (8 inches O.D.) to be entered into the open end of the cap. The cap then tapers within the 2 55 inches height to a minimum inside dimension of 08.500 inches. Even an undersized 8 /8 inches O.D. pipe will be forced to reduce in size and conform to the inside dimension of the cap. This reduction in size increases the strength of the pipe. The reduction in size makes a water-tight drive fit.

As added insurance against leaks, and at the same time to increase the strength of the pipe at the most critical location, (this is the tip of the pile and. the edge of the pipe where all of the driving energy is transmitted) the drive cap is provided with an internal, annular, restrictor ring, which will form a barrier or wall on the inside of the pipe, preventing the wall of the pipe for curling inwardly. The annular area formed by the wall of the drive cap and the wall of the ring is filled with a sealant and a bottom layer of jute or burlap. This ring strengthens the wall of the pipe, retains the sealant and gasket, and strengthens the whole cap.

FIG. 4 is a portional, elevational view, partly in section of a pile cap 20 of the invention formed from a single piece of metal by the method described earlier in this specification. A pipe 38 has a pile cap 20 driven onto it. Pile cap 20 comprises a flat annular base 31 and outwardly tapered, side 33 at the outer circumference of the base 31. The junction of the side 33 and base 31 is bulged as shown at 29. When the pipe 38 is driven into the cap 20, the pipe is deformed because the diameter of base 31 and the inner diameter of side 33 is less than the outer diameter of pipe 38. This compressing of the pipe makes the fit of the cap'on the pipe firm and solid and also serves to seal the pipe from the outside. V

In FIG. 5, pile cap 50 is seen to be driven on the end of. pipe pile 31 and to comprise base 52, outwardly tapered, side 54 and internal, upstanding, annular ring 56. Cap 50 is formed of one piece the same as cap 20 and internal ring 56 is welded in place as shown at 58. Since the outer diameter of ring 56 is smaller then the inner diameter of pipe 38, it is sometimesadvisable to insert a mastic or waterproofing cement 60 and an O- ring gasket or material such as jute or burlap between side 54 and ring 56. This absolutely inhibits penetration of water of foreign matter into the pile.

In FIGS. 6 and 8, pile cap 70 is seen to comprise a base 72, outwardly tapered, side 74 and an internal ring 76 welded to base 72 as shown at 78. It is seen to be a tight drive fit on pipe 38 because the outer diameter of ring 76 is greater than the inside diameter of pipe 38. This embodiment gives the tightest and most rigid fit. A mastic for water penetration inhibition may also be used.

FIG. 7 illustrates the cap 50 of FIG. 5 applied to pipe 38. In addition, an annular plate 80 has been welded to the bottom of base 52 as shown at 82 to provide added strength to the cap if and when necessary for heavy driving without changing the thickness of the whole cap.

It should be noted that internal retainer ring may be of any height or configuration. It can be perpendicular to the base or outwardly tapered without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

' FIG. 12 illustrates a composite pile which may be easily formed and driven utilizing the pile cap of the invention. Composite pile 100 comprises timber pile 102 and pipe pile 104. Pile cap 106 is provided with a short section of pipe 108 welded to the bottom of its base 110. The pipe 104 is driven on pile'cap 106 in the manner which has been described previously and the pipe section 108 is driven into the top of the timber pile. It is now possible to continue driving this composite pile readily and easily.

It is also possible to use a pile cap at the top of a timber pile to facilitate the driving of the pile. Such use of a cap will prevent brooming and splitting of the pile. It is best to use a cap with an internal ring for this purpose.

FIG. 13 is an elevational view of a pile cap 1 12 of the invention to the bottom of which has been welded a cutting shoe 1 14 as shown at 116. Thecutting shoe affixed to the bottom of the drive cap will give the bottom of the pile a sharp edge which will tend to hog into soft rock and penetrate hard layers of material not able to be penetrated by a flat surface, without expending much time and energy. The cutting shoe will penetrate into, and give more lateral stability on subsurface slopping rock.

FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate pile sleeves which utilize the teachings of the invention. Sleeve is formed from a pair of pile caps 122 and 124 which are welded together, bottom to bottom, as shown at 126. The centers 123 and 125 of the pile caps 122 and 124 have been blanked out by punching or any other suitable method. The sleeve 120 is made up of two caps which have tapered outer annular sides 128 and 129 and internal retaining rings 130 and 131. The pile sleeve 120 will serve to join two pipe piles of the same size together firmly and expeditiously.

Pile sleeve 132 (FIG. 15) is formed in the same manner as has just been described. The pile caps 134 and 136 are of different diameters and are shown without internal, retaining rings so that sleeve 132 can be used to join two pipe piles of different diameters or two timber piles of different diameters. Obviously, combination sleeves of caps of the same or different diameters may be fashioned in which one or both of the caps is provided with an internal, retaining ring.

FIG. 16 is an elevational view of a three step pile utilizing reducing sleeves 132. Pile 38B. is the smallest pile and is located at the bottom. Sleeve 132A, having larger cap 134A and small cap 136A is applied to the top of pile 38B and to the bottom of pile 38A, as shown in the figure. This effectively joins the piles together. Sleeve 132 is applied to the top of pile 38A and to the bottom of pile 38, as shown in the figure. Piles 38, 38A and 388 may be either pipe or timber piles or one or more of them may be one type pile and the other or others may be a different type pile. Obviously, the arrangement of FIG. 16 is not limited to three piles.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A drive fit cap for pipe piles for application at either end of the pile by force fit in the absence of welding for facilitating the driving thereof comprising:

a one piece pan having an annular base having a bottom and a top and an outwardly tapered side projecting from the top of the annular base at the circumference thereof; 2

the junction of said annular base and said outwardly tapered side being outwardly bulged whereby the end of the pipe within the cap is deformed to thereby lock the cap in position on the pipe.

2. The invention of claim 1 including:

an internal annular ring having an outer diameter not greater than the inside diameter of the pipe affixed to the top of the annular base so that the pipe is between the outwardly tapered side and the annular ring.

3. The invention of claim 2 including:

a flat, annular plate of approximately the same size and shape as the annular base affixed to the bottom of the base to increase the strength of the cap and pile.

4. The invention of claim 2 including:

a pipe having a diameter not greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base.

5. The invention of claim 2 including:

an annular cutting shoe having a diameter not appreciably greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the base.

6. The invention of claim 1 including:

a flat, annular plate of approximately the same size and shape as the annular base affixed to the bottom of the base to increase the strength of the cap and pile.

7. The invention of claim 1 including:

a pipe having a diameter not greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base.

8. The invention of claim l'including:

an annular cutting shoe having a diameter not appreciably greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the base.

9. A drive fit sleeve for application to one end of each of a pair of pipe piles to join them together by force fit in the absence of welding comprising:

a pair of one piece pans each having an annular base having a bottom and a top and an outwardly tapered side projecting from the top of the annular base at the circumference thereof;

the junction of each said annular base and said outwardly tapered side being outwardly bulged whereby the end. of the pipe within the cap is deformed to thereby lock the cap in position on the pipe;

the pans being joined together bottom to bottom.

10. The invention of claim 9 wherein: the bases of the two pans are of different diameters.

l 1. The invention of claim 10 wherein at least one of said pans includes:

an internal annular ring having an outer diameter not greater than the inside diameter of the pipe affixed to the top of .its annular base so that the end of the pipe is between the outwardly tapered side and the annular ring. 7 12. The invention of claim 11 wherein:

there are two such internal annular rings, there being 7 one affixed to the top of each annular base. 13. The invention of claim 9 wherein at least one of said pans includes:

an internal annular ring having an outer diameter not greater than the inside diameter of the pipe affixed to the top of its annular base so that the end of the pipe is between the outwardly tapered side and the annular ring.

14. The invention of claim 13 wherein:

there are two such internal annular rings, there being one affixed to the top of each annular base.

15. A pile comprising:

a drive fit cap affixed to one end thereof by force fit, in the absence of welding, comprising a one piece pan having an annular base having a bottom and a top and an outwardly tapered side projecting from the top of the annular base;

' the junction of the annular base and the outwardly tapered side being outwardly bulged whereby the end of the pipe within the cap is deformed to thereby lock the cap in position on the pipe and produce a firm fit of the cap on the pile and increase the strength of the pile.

16. The invention of claim 15 including:

a flat, annular plate of approximately the same size and shape as the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base to further increase the strength of the cap and pile.

17. The invention of claim 15 including:

a pipe having a diameter not greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base.

18. Theinvention of claim 15 including:

an. annular cutting shoe having .a diameter not appreciably greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base.

19. The invention of claim 15 including:

an internal annular ring having an outer diameter not greater than the inside diameter of the pipe affixed to the top of the annular base so that the pipe is between the outwardly tapered side and the annular ring.

20. The invention of claim 19 including:

a flat, annular plate of approximately the same size and shape as the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base to further increase the strength of the cap and pile.

21. The invention of claim 19 including:

a pipe having a diameter not greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base.

22. The invention of claim 19 including:

an annular cutting shoe having a diameter not appreciably greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base.

23. A pile comprising:

a first pipe;

a second pipe;

a drive fit sleeve affixed to one end of the first pipe and to one end of the second pipe to join the pipes together by force fit, in the absence of welding, comprising a pair of one piece pans each having an annular base having a bottom and a top and an outwardly tapered side projecting from the top of the annular base at the circumference thereof;

the junction of each of the annular bases and the outwardly tapered side projecting therefrom being bulged whereby the end of the pipe within the sleeve is deformed to thereby produce a firm fit between the sleeve and the pipe, lock the sleeve in position on the pipe, increase the strength of the pile and effect a firm joint between the pipes.

24. The invention of claim 23 wherein:

there are two such internal annular rings, there being one affixed to the top of each annular base.

25. The invention of claim 23 wherein:

the annular bases of the two pans are of different diameters.

26. The invention of claim 23 wherein at least one of said pans includes: 

1. A drive fit cap for pipe piles for application at either end of the pile by force fit in the absence of welding for facilitating the driving thereof comprising: a one piece pan having an annular base having a bottom and a top and an outwardly tapered side projecting from the top of the annular base at the circumference thereof; the junction of said annular base and said outwardly tapered side being outwardly bulged whereby the end of the pipe within the cap is deformed to thereby lock the cap in position on the pipe.
 2. The invention of claim 1 including: an internal annular ring having an outer diameter not greater than the inside diameter of the pipe affixed to the top of the annular base so that the pipe is between the outwardly tapered side and the annular ring.
 3. The invention of claim 2 including: a flat, annular plate of approximately the same size and shape as the annular base affixed to the bottom of the base to increase the strength of the cap and pile.
 4. The invention of claim 2 including: a pipe having a diameter not greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base.
 5. The invention of claim 2 including: an annular cutting shoe having a diameter not appreciably greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the base.
 6. The invention of claim 1 including: a flat, annular plate of approximately the same size and shape as the annular base affixed to the bottom of the base to increase the strength of the cap and pile.
 7. The invention of claim 1 including: a pipe having a diameter not greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base.
 8. The invention of claim 1 including: an annular cutting shoe having a diameter not appreciably greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the base.
 9. A drive fit sleeve for application to one end of each of a pair of pipe piles to join them together by force fit in the absence of welding comprising: a pair of one piece pans each having an annular base having a bottom and a top and an outwardly tapered side projecting from the top of the annular base at the circumference thereof; the junction of each said annular base and said outwardly tapered side being outwardly bulged whereby the end of the pipe within the cap is deformed to thereby lock the cap in position on the pipe; the pans being joined together bottom to bottom.
 10. The invention of claim 9 wherein: the bases of the two pans are of different diameters.
 11. The invention of claim 10 wherein at least one of said pans includes: an internal annular ring having an outer diameter not greater than the inside diameter of the pipe affixed to the top of its annular base so that the end of the pipe is between the outwardly tapered side and the annular ring.
 12. The invention of claim 11 wherein: there are two such internal annular rings, there being one affixed to the top of each annular base.
 13. The invention of claim 9 wherein at least one of said pans includes: an internal annular ring having an outer diameter not greater than the inside diameter of the pipe affIxed to the top of its annular base so that the end of the pipe is between the outwardly tapered side and the annular ring.
 14. The invention of claim 13 wherein: there are two such internal annular rings, there being one affixed to the top of each annular base.
 15. A pile comprising: a pipe; a drive fit cap affixed to one end thereof by force fit, in the absence of welding, comprising a one piece pan having an annular base having a bottom and a top and an outwardly tapered side projecting from the top of the annular base; the junction of the annular base and the outwardly tapered side being outwardly bulged whereby the end of the pipe within the cap is deformed to thereby lock the cap in position on the pipe and produce a firm fit of the cap on the pile and increase the strength of the pile.
 16. The invention of claim 15 including: a flat, annular plate of approximately the same size and shape as the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base to further increase the strength of the cap and pile.
 17. The invention of claim 15 including: a pipe having a diameter not greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base.
 18. The invention of claim 15 including: an annular cutting shoe having a diameter not appreciably greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base.
 19. The invention of claim 15 including: an internal annular ring having an outer diameter not greater than the inside diameter of the pipe affixed to the top of the annular base so that the pipe is between the outwardly tapered side and the annular ring.
 20. The invention of claim 19 including: a flat, annular plate of approximately the same size and shape as the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base to further increase the strength of the cap and pile.
 21. The invention of claim 19 including: a pipe having a diameter not greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base.
 22. The invention of claim 19 including: an annular cutting shoe having a diameter not appreciably greater than that of the annular base affixed to the bottom of the annular base.
 23. A pile comprising: a first pipe; a second pipe; a drive fit sleeve affixed to one end of the first pipe and to one end of the second pipe to join the pipes together by force fit, in the absence of welding, comprising a pair of one piece pans each having an annular base having a bottom and a top and an outwardly tapered side projecting from the top of the annular base at the circumference thereof; the junction of each of the annular bases and the outwardly tapered side projecting therefrom being bulged whereby the end of the pipe within the sleeve is deformed to thereby produce a firm fit between the sleeve and the pipe, lock the sleeve in position on the pipe, increase the strength of the pile and effect a firm joint between the pipes.
 24. The invention of claim 23 wherein: there are two such internal annular rings, there being one affixed to the top of each annular base.
 25. The invention of claim 23 wherein: the annular bases of the two pans are of different diameters.
 26. The invention of claim 23 wherein at least one of said pans includes: an internal annular ring having an outer diameter not greater than the inside diameter of the pipe affixed to the top of its annular base so that the end of the pipe is between the outwardly tapered side and the annular ring.
 27. The invention of claim 26 wherein: there are two such internal annular rings, there being one affixed to the top of each annular base.
 28. The invention of claim 26 wherein: the annular bases of the two pans are of different diameters. 